"Rosenfelt will be a fo ce in the legal-thriller world for a long time to come." -Book/ist FI . RS . . r . .. . . .... . . . .. . .. .... . . .. .. ...... "...... .' .' . .. .. . . .,'.- '. '. '.' " . .. . '".. '. ,', .... ,'..... .'. '. . . .... . . '... .. . .. . . '.." . ';'.:." ....,' ....... ,...-.. .... . . . . . .. ',' . ....... ..... .... ..... ..... .,'.. : " .:': '::' Ej :::'\ ..:<:'.....:>::<::>:: ".: "::. . . . . " O :::: Jj ' :.....:::.;::.:: ':"}";';"'::' R ' ....:. ]8 ...:.::.:. i ...::':::.:'.:".:. . .'.. . .' . .... .:"... '.:'.', . ' ", ":.":. .:', .', ." ..... ,: :': .... ..... ......:. .... :::',' '... ...." . '. . '.' ...... ..... . . ..,'. -, ',.." ," '.' . " ". . . . :",' ,,; .... . .... '. .' .' . .'. . . '. ."' . . .:': . /.", " .< ":" :'. . .::' ...... ".,'.: :> .......:.....: .:.....:... .:.::' : ". .: :..:" .;,:<.:,:(,;<,. ". '::k:.J .,....;....,,;,:.,i.:,,; :.,',,://. ."....;; DAV '" '. . " ,,' ":' . ; ROSEN FE . '.1, ' ,t. "''';::' .... . . '. . .;"':: ,.. \ . . .',.' ....\ , canny invention, snappy dialogue, deftly managed legal conflicts, startling . " surprises. -Kirkus Reviews (starred review) 66Rosenfelt should win a unanimous verdict: first-rate." -Publishers Weekly (starred review) AVAILABLE IN HARDCOVER 2003 EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE BEST FIRST NOVEL I IS T ..AII around terrific.... The best debut book I've read this year. Case closed." -Harlan Coben, author of No Second Chance NOW IN PAPERBACK Read Excerpts Online at www.twbookmark.com Mysterious Press ... s@ An AOL Time Warner Book Group Company 8 THE NEW YORKER, MAY 19, 2003 THE MAIL A SURGEON'S DOUBTS Atul Gawande's Profile of the surgeon Francis Moore offers a vivid portrayal of a now quite distant era of medical re- search ("Desperate Measures," May 5th). Doctors like Moore were virtually unre- strained by the rules, procedures, and ethical guidelines that now prevail. Moore's refusal for much of his career to respect limits led him, as Gawande re- lates, to perform groundbreakIng exper- iments. But the part of the story that is particularly remarkable is the account of how Moore came to reconsider the need for constraints on researchers, ulti- mately deciding to champion them. The recognition that vital research can and should be pursued within such boundaries may have been his most last- ing contribution. J Russell Claybrook New Hampton, NY Gawande's article recalls a time when a patient's death was an outcome that phy- sicians such as Francis Moore were will- ing to take any risk to avoid. Their "des- perate measures" led to great advances, ushering in an era where recovery from illness is presumed, rather than hoped for. But today; with the managed-care system putting a premium on monetary costs, decisions as to what is medically necessary are often no longer even made by treating physicians. Given the govern- ment's emphasis on national standardi- zation and the desire of private c riers to increase profits, we may be entering a time when medical explorers will no longer be willing or able to enter un- charted territo Steven R Shanin Highland Park, III IT HAPPENED ON THE BUS Adam Gopnik, in his observations of New York bus ClÙture, remarks on the rel- ative lack of great bus scenes in literature ("The People on the Bus," May 5th). In fact, some very dramatic bus scenes can be found in the first fifty pages of Saul Bellow's 1969 novel, "Mr. Sammler's Planet." Sammler spends time each day on the northbound No.5 watching a black pickpocket in a camel-hair coat and designer sunglasses ply his trade. The fashionable thief, realizing that Sammler has been observing him, fol- lows Sammler to the lobby of his build- ing and exposes himself This incident becomes a symbol of the barbarism of the city around which the rest of the novel revolves. The bus scenes are vividly described, as are the routes. Bellow also supports Gopnik's early suspicion that buses are for old people, and that they can offer some sense of safety in dan- gerous times. He describes the aging Sammler's fear of encountering the pick- pocket again in these terms: "Buses were bearable, subways were killing. Must he give up the bus?" Michael Wreszin New York City Gopnik writes that he had trouble find- ing unforgettable scenes involving New York City buses in the movies. But there are plenty of good ones. Just to glance at a few classic films: Buster Keaton in "The Cameraman," nonchalantly perched on the outside of an all too crowded bus; Jean Arthur in "Easy Liv- ing," riding upper deck only to disappear under a mink coat thrown off a pent- house terrace by millionaire Edward Ar- nold; or Judy Garland's bus ride up Fifth Avenue in Vincente Minnelli's "The Clock." And, if you count buses that are headed into and out of the city; there's also Audrey Hepburn bidding goodbye to her unlikely ex, Buddy Ebsen, at the bus station in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable taking a ride into town on the most famous bus in film history, in Frank Capris "It Happened One Night." Michael A. Kaplan New York Czty . Letters should be sent with the writer s name address and daytime phone number via e-mail to themail@newyorker.com. They can also be faxed to 212-286-5047. Letters may be edited for length and clarity and may be published in any medium; we regret that owing to the volume of correspondence we cannot reply to every letter.